


The Englishman's Wine

by rikujo (helphiddlestoned)



Series: 25 Days of Fic [16]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 25 Days of Fic, Day 16: Fireplace, Fluff, M/M, the title is from a book about Port because i'm a nerd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 18:18:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13036752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helphiddlestoned/pseuds/rikujo
Summary: An evening, well spent with wine and familiar company for comfort.





	The Englishman's Wine

**Author's Note:**

> Day 16! Like countless people I uncreatively use João for Portugal. Hope you enjoy!

The world outside the window had long grown dark, the winter grey of the sky fading into muted purples and then finally to pitch-black, but even an hour later Arthur still hadn’t bothered to get up and flick on the living room light.

The crackling fire in the grate of the fireplace provided a warm, flickering glow anyway, bathing the rug in soft yellow light which was plenty enough to see by. Really, Arthur should have moved anyway since lying on the rug was hardly dignified, but there was no real incentive to shift, especially not when he was so comfortable.

Instead he lifted his wine glass to his lips, taking a draft as he stared into the flames.

“You know, you haven’t moved for nearly ten minutes.”

Arthur glanced across the rug to where João was propped with his back against the coffee table. In a feat of pure betrayal, Arthur’s cat Bess was curled up in his lap. Then again, she tended to go wherever there was food and João had given her chicken scraps from the leftovers of dinner.

“Do I need to move?” Arthur asked lazily, tilting his glass once more to drain the last of it, but then he did actually sit up. “You’re the one that plied me with Port.”

João’s lips twitched as he stroked behind Bess’ ears, gazing into the fire himself. “ _Plied_ makes it sound like I had an ulterior motive.”

“For all I know you might.” Arthur murmured, but a small smile touched his lips when João’s eyes flicked his way. “However, you seemed more interested in the cat than me until just now. I had no reason to get up.”

“She needs spoiling.” João justified. He scratched under Bess’ chin, eliciting a purr, and reached back with his free hand to take one of the last bits of chicken from his plate on the coffee table.

Arthur looked on, shaking his head, as he fed it to the contented tabby.

“She’ll be fat before you’re satisfied she’s suitably pampered…I might be too.” he added in a mutter as he lifted the Port bottle from the table and refilled his glass. He held it up in wordless question afterwards. João nodded, collecting his own depleted glass and presenting it for a refill.

“Everything in moderation including moderation, right?” João said, raising an eyebrow as Arthur poured. “Everyone needs a little excess from time to time.”

“Hm, you say that but with the amount of food and wine you normally turn up with, I’m beginning to think you’re bad for my health.”

The statement only got him a chuckle. “Is that why your grumpiness has always halved by the time I leave?”

“Pity I haven’t found a way to do the same with your ego.” Arthur retorted with practised ease, his lips twitching as he set down the bottle again.

“You’re not about to either, especially if you’re not going to deny it.”

Arthur hummed. “I think I’m a little too old to bother denying that one.”

João’s smile spread and he inched his hand forward to clink their glasses together. “Well I’m honoured.”

Arthur scoffed, shaking his head. “As you bloody should be. You come in here, getting me drunk, stealing my cat…I ought to be horrified.”

“I’d be more concerned if I actually thought you minded.” João dismissed lightly as Bess grabbed his attention again, stretching languidly in his lap.

Too contented to continue bantering as usual, Arthur took the first sip from his new glass, enjoying the wine on his tongue instead. Even for Port, it was impressively good. The realisation made him frown slightly.

“What was the special occasion for the wine?” he asked curiously.

Looking back up at him, João rested an elbow on the coffee table, leaning into it as his eyebrows lifted. “Do I need a special reason?”

“This is a very old, highly _delicious_ bottle of Port. You’d have brought the cheaper crap if it was for nothing.”

João just shrugged. “It’s nearly Christmas.” he replied. “Besides, you appreciate the good stuff. I’m not going to waste it on Antonio.”

Snorting, Arthur propped an elbow on the table himself. “Don’t tell him that. He’ll probably go into cardiac arrest if you ever say _I’ve_ got better taste in wine.”

“You don’t have better taste in wine.”

Arthur frowned. “Oh joy, you’re about to ruin it.”

João chuckled, reaching out a few fingers to trace them over the back of Arthur’s elbow. “You don’t have better taste in wine—but he has no taste in _Port_ , specifically.” The fingers curled around his elbow entirely, João’s thumb stroking across his skin. “It’s your wine, right?”

 _The Englishman’s Wine…_ People were forever calling it that.

“Hm, well I was going to say thank you but I think there was an insult in there.”

“You could thank me anyway.”

“I could.” he acknowledged, considering João with a flick of his eyes.

He waited momentarily though, letting João’s expression grow expectant before he silently closed the small distance between them. He caught João’s lips with his, kissing warm and firm until he could taste the wine lingering on João’s mouth. There was always something satisfying about it, particularly in its familiarity, but he didn’t let himself linger.

He pulled back from the kiss, bringing his glass to his lips once more and swallowing down another mouthful before he nodded.

“That will do, I think.”

Beside him, João just smiled, looking away to the fireplace once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are very much appreciated! You can also come and bother me at anglaisaph on tumblr ❤


End file.
